Gina Pitkanen, Heart of a Raven, Eye of an Artist!

Gina Pitkanen,
better known on Renderosity as Ravnheart,
is an award-winning artist and an incredible photographer. Her 2D
and 3D images have graced the pages of such prestigious
publications as 3D World Magazine. Gina's attention to
detail and her intrinsic creative nature has consistently made her
a top vendor in the Renderosity MarketPlace. All this, and her
enduring love story to fellow artist, vendor, and husband,
ToxicAngel...makes
Gina (Ravnheart) Pitkanen someone you have to know!

Dee Marie: Your images in the art gallery have garnered
a large following within our community. When and how did you first
discover Renderosity?

Gina Pitkanen (Ravnheart): I came to
Renderosity after a friend saw my graphic work and thought I might
like the artwork on Renderosity. This was back in 2002, and when
there was still the "Renderosity Art Gallery Top 20."

I looked at the Top 20 and was blown away with what was being
done with Poser. I had just started working with Poser at the time.
Seeing the quality work that was being produced made me want to
learn all I could about it, and add my own style to my Poser
images.

DM: Your Poser art gallery postings are amazing, and
congratulations on consistently being in the top echelons of the
Renderosity MarketPlace vendors. When did you become a Renderosity
vendor, and what was your first product?

GP: Thank you (embarrassed laughter). I became
a vendor not long after I joined Renderosity...they kind of went
hand-in-hand. I started working with Poser and I had bought the
Gladiator Armor for Victoria, and I loved it. Yet, I wanted to try
some different styles and textures with it. I created three
different textures and used them in my artwork. I got such a great
response from them, I thought I would offer them for sale on the
Renderosity MarketPlace, and at least pay for my hobby. It soon
became much more than that (louder laughter).

DM: With your eye for detail, it is easy to see
why your MarketPlace products quickly became such a huge hit. To
date, what has been your biggest selling item on Renderosity's
MarketPlace?

GP: I think the biggest selling item I have,
are the Heavenly Hair sets that I created with ToxicAngel.
I realized that one of the main problems most people had with their
art was creating hair. So I got with Toxic and we came up with the
Heavenly Hair packs. We are planning to do some more
soon...look for something a bit different than what we have
done.

Heavenly Hair 1- 4 by Ravnheart and ToxicAngel

DM: Your heavenly hair sets are my favorites. When did
you first join creative forces in the marketplace with ToxicAngel
(Janne Pitkanen), and what brought about the initial
collaboration?

GP: Well the story of myself and ToxicAngel is
a great one. ToxicAngel's art gallery was pretty much the top
artist on Renderosity at the time. When I first discovered the
Renderosity art galleries, I saw ToxicAngel's artwork all over the
Top 20. He was the main reason for me to try to learn this great
tool.

After I had been doing textures for a bit, he contacted me about
my work, and we became fast friends. Later I had an image that I
was having some issues with, and I sent it to him. When it came
back to me, I was blown away with how he worked his magic on
it.

We continued to do artwork and then later we started doing
products. After about two years, I came to visit him in Finland. We
ended up getting married and we will be celebrating our 5th
wedding-anniversary this month (gentle laughter).

DM: Thank you for sharing your love story with
us, it is very inspirational. Besides finding a fellow artist to
collaborate with you, what other advice can you give members of our
Renderosity community who may also want to sell their cyber-wares
on Renderosity?

GP: The most important advice I can give, is
when you create products, do what you love to do. That is, if you
like fantasy then do fantasy, if you like Sci-Fi, then do Sci-Fi.
Also, don't rush the creative process, or you may have a product
that you are never happy with.

Before starting, get an idea of what you want to do. Though this
may change as you are working, it's good to have an idea on what
direction you wish your creation to go. That way you don't waste
time and you don't get frustrated.

Forgotten Tombs by Ravnheart

DM: Excellent advice. On the non-creative front...has
the fluctuation of the US economy affected your Renderosity online
storefront?

GP: Yes, sadly it has really hurt my income
quite a bit. I now live in Finland, and use Euros, so my pay has
been hit pretty hard recently.

DM: While browsing through your art gallery and
MarketPlace storefront, I noticed that Adobe Photoshop plays a big
part of your creative process, which version do you currently
use?

GP: I use Photoshop CS. In my 3D work, all my
post-work is done in Photoshop. All of my 2D work is created
completely in Photoshop. I like my 2D work much better than my 3D
work now though.

DM: Besides Photoshop, what other software is in your
artistic arsenal?

GP: I mainly use Poser Pro, and Photoshop CS
right now. I have Painter X and Vue as well, but I don't use them
as much.

DM: I've always wanted to ask you, what is the story
behind your Renderosity username, Ravnheart?

GP: Well, I am part Cherokee and have a great
love for Ravens, so it's more that I have the heart of a Raven than
having a black heart.

DM: I can't let you go without asking you about your
winning image in Renderosity's 6th annual
Holiday Contest. What was the inspiration behind your whimsical
image of Santa?

GP: Well, the image started out as a portrait
of a friend. I had started by painting his face and eyes, and then,
I looked up and saw him as Santa. So, I added the white beard and
hair and then giggled to myself. That was the time the contest was
going on. It was just one of those things that just comes together
at the right time. Now if I can just get the artist of the month.
(followed by playful laughter and twinkling eyes)

We invite you to visit the following links, featuring artwork
and products by Gina Pitkanen (Ravnheart):

Article Comments

I have several of your brush sets and use them all the time. Also - your Nightwish artwork is awesome. :)

calum5 ()
posted at 3:05PM Mon, 24 November 2008

What a great interview,glad to read up more on the artistic talent that you are!I can see you have a great help at home !Love your art and I have all your products.I just wish you'd post more often!!Congrats ,cal

nickcharles ()
posted at 11:10PM Mon, 24 November 2008

A most excellent interview, Dee-Marie! Gina, it's great to get to know more about you and your work! I absolutely LOVE your 2D work...pure magic! I want to add that I especially like seeing your image progressions. If anyone wants to see what I'm speaking of, please check out the image progression of Gina's "Albus Dumbledore" piece: http://www.ravnheart.com/wip/albus/

ToxicAngel ()
posted at 5:49AM Tue, 25 November 2008

You rule!

deviney ()
posted at 11:57AM Tue, 25 November 2008

Hey Gina, you are a inspiration to me and everyone.Love all your great products,you will always be a success. You're like a breath of fresh air,have a great Thanksgiving. Ron

Turtle ()
posted at 12:03PM Tue, 25 November 2008

Hi Gina, Long time since we've talked. Glad to see you are well and still making beautiful Art.

Lzy724 ()
posted at 10:05AM Wed, 26 November 2008

An outstanding artist! Great interview!

romanceworks ()
posted at 2:09PM Wed, 26 November 2008

Great interview, Gina. I remember when I first came to R'osity in 03, and saw yours and Toxic's artwork. It truly awed and inspired me and still does. Two supremely talented people coming together in art and in love. How great is that!! CC

You and Janne are one of the most emblematic artists here at rendo (in fact,the reason lot of us get engaged with poser), and this is a fantastic interview to know the story behind the artist, even a lil short because there are too much to tale, like the nightwish and much other works outside this site that would be very interesting to know. Congrats!